Hostess Love

While browsing my new Cooking Light magazine at lunch I came across this adorable little apron by ZenDeluxe. Wouldn't it make a lovely gift for someone who likes to play hostess?!

This Weekend...

Mom and I managed to bake over 30 dozen cookies! You read that right..30! We made Chocolate Gingerbread cookies, Caramel Thumbprint cookies, Mexican Chocolate cookies, Butter cookies (w/ peppermint frosting!), Macaroons, Apricot Almond Doodle Cookies, Peppermint Bark and White Chocolate and Peppermint covered Pretzel Sticks! Yu-mmy!! And today I brought each of my co-workers a cute Christmas box of assorted goodies and they LOVED them, which totally excites me!

I got Abby and Chris' stockings done which means I am completely finished shopping!

I gave my first Christmas present away! I love giving someone a gift you know they will love!

We finally watched It's a Wonderful Life and I cried, like I always do when I watch that movie!

And today I am gearing up for a great week! Starting tomorrow we are having friends/family over every day through Christmas! Ahh, that makes me so giddy! I adore cooking a good meal and playing hostess to wonderful people!


Happy first day of Winter!

All In Good Health

The other day I mentioned I made gluten free pizza while Lael and Elise were here. You may have wondered why. Well, I discovered that Elise has recently found out she is mildly intolerant to gluten and I of course, wanted to be an accommodating hostess:) So I modified the Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Naan Bread Pizzas I had planned. I simply replaced the naan with Bob's Redmill gluten free pizza dough. It turned out quite good! I have to say, I wasn't surprised at the lovely turn out given that I have never tried a Bob's product I didn't love!


And for dessert we had Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss Ice Cream topped with fresh raspberries! Oh my, it was y-u-m-m-y!! It had a very nice nutty flavor to it and it's totally organic, vegan and soy, dairy and gluten-free. I'm totally looking for an excuse to try some of the other flavors like: Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge, Naked Coconut and Cappuccino! Did I mention they are also sweetend with agave nectar?!


Just to clarify, I am not promoting going gluten-free just for kicks, but Celiac disease, or an intolerance to gluten, is a very real thing and I'm so glad to see that there are tasty options out there. This is very helpful if you or someone you might be cooking for suffers from it. Of course, it is always nice to explore products made with good, wholesome ingredients:) It never hurts to get out of our comfort zone, especially with delicious foods!

If this is something you might be interested in getting good recipes/ideas on, you may want to check out the blog: Gluten Free Girl! It's quite delightful!

Wishing you good health always!